Sony a5100 has a
24.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz X processor. On the other hand, Nikon Z50 has a
21.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features Expeed 6 processor.
One other difference between these two cameras that is worth mentioning is that Nikon Z50's sensor doesn't have an anti-alias (Low-Pass) filter. Removing anti-alias filter increases the sharpness and level of detail but at the same time, it increases the chance of moiré occurring in certain scenes.
Below you can see the a5100 and Z50 sensor size comparison.
Sony a5100 and Nikon Z50 have almost the same sensor size, so neither of them has any significant advantage over the other in terms of providing control over depth of field when used with the same focal length and aperture.